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Today's Sports

Late June and early July are probably the most beautiful time of year in the mountains. Rain has finally come in enough quantity to restore life to the foothills and everything is lush green.

It is so green that you might think you are in Ireland. The grasses are green, the trees are green, kinnikinnick is green, our whole immediate world is green with blue sky overhead, and around every twist of a road or trail you are greeted by a splash of color from wildflowers.

Shortly after 7 a.m. on July 9, 53-year-old Dan Oracion felt like he was ready for the challenge he was about to embark on. The Casper, Wyo., cyclist was about to begin his journey in the 23rd annual Triple Bypass. Only this time, he was going to do it twice, both ways, in the same weekend.

“I’ll have to make sure to recover real well tonight, get a good meal and get to bed early so my battery is recharged, my legs are recharged to do it again tomorrow,” he said.

The last out is a lot of times the hardest to get, even despite when one is pitching as well as Mike Imes was on July 9. The Evergreen starter baffled Bear Creek’s batters, scattering just four hits. But with his team leading 3-0 with one out to go in Game 1 of a doubleheader five straight balls threatened the win.

A reader of this column sent me a message via the Canyon Courier this past week, saying she had seen a great blue heron along North Turkey Creek and was wondering if that was unusual. Yes, it is a bit unusual this early in the season.

Steven Stick is only going to be a junior next school year, but it’s hard to imagine he’s going to be any better than he was on June 28 at Evergreen High School. He was plenty good, and he could get even better.

The 6-foot-4 Lobo did it with his pitching, where other than one five-run inning he held the Cougars in check with 10 strikeouts, and his stick, going 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs in a 8-5 victory.

Kendall Chase looks like the typical high school athlete. And she’s tried many sports — soccer, golf, basketball and volleyball. Yet, it wasn’t until the Evergreen resident and the soon-to-be Mullen High School senior found rowing that she found her true calling.

A natural athlete, Chase’s height — she’s 5-foot-11 — likely pigeon-holed any success she may have had at the next level, especially in basketball. But it hasn’t stopped her in rowing where she’s a natural fit.

June has been a wonderful month, so green, so fresh after the cold winter, it seemed almost magical. Now, July lies ahead with warmer weather, dusty roads and skyrockets in bloom for the Fourth of July.

LAKEWOOD — Lindsey Palmer could feel the nerves coming on. The good kind of nerves. The ones a person gets when they’re excited. After all the American Motocross Association national tour was at Thunder Valley Motocross Park, her home away from home.

“This morning I was feeling big butterflies,” Palmer said. “Everyone you know is here and they’re all watching and like ‘You’ve got to go out and do it.’ It’s a lot of pressure. But once the gate drops it all goes away.”

GEORGETOWN — Peter Cole took a couple of years off from running, and the 25-year-old Denver native is just now getting back into the swing of things.

“To be honest I moved back to Denver and Denver is a running community. I’ve been running with my brother and some other guys. They’ve been a great inspiration for me to keep running,” said Cole, a Mullen High School graduate and a four-year cross country runner at Creighton University.